UN Chief: "Hunger Should Never Be Used as a Weapon of War"

TDT | Manama

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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has made a heartfelt appeal to the world, urging nations to reject the use of hunger as a weapon of war.

Speaking via video at a UN conference held in Ethiopia, Guterres highlighted the growing threat of hunger driven by both conflict and climate change. "Climate change is disrupting harvests, supply chains, and humanitarian aid. Conflict continues to spread hunger from Gaza to Sudan and beyond," he said. "We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war."

In Gaza, the humanitarian situation remains critical after 21 months of war. Aid groups say the recent easing of Israel’s blockade has not allowed nearly enough food and medical supplies to enter the territory. From March to May, Israel’s complete blockade cut off all aid, deepening the crisis. Although Israel has now announced limited "tactical pauses" in fighting to allow aid delivery, the World Health Organization warns that malnutrition in Gaza has reached "alarming levels."

Israel, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, strongly denies using hunger as a tool of war. Instead, it has criticized aid agencies for not collecting and distributing supplies available at border crossings.

Meanwhile, the situation in Sudan is also worsening. UN officials have called it one of the world’s biggest and most overlooked humanitarian disasters. Since April 2023, a deadly power struggle between the country’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the head of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has led to the deaths of tens of thousands and the displacement of more than seven million people.

Othman Belbeisi, regional director for the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), described Sudan as “the largest humanitarian catastrophe facing our world and also the least remembered.”

As conflicts rage on and climate pressures grow, the UN is urging the global community to act with urgency and compassion to ensure food is never used to cause suffering.